DETROIT – Herman Walters died in a hit-and-run crash in July when a high-speed driver slammed into him in Detroit.
Walters, known as Rocky, was riding his motorcycle on the Southfield Service Drive near West Davison when he was hit by a speeding driver on July 28 at about 12:24 a.m. Authorities have identified that driver as 37-year-old Daniel Cook.
“He (Cook) was doing 90 some miles an hour on that service drive, and when he impacted my son he was doing 83 miles an hour. He threw my boy 150 feet, dragged him, hit him on the car at 150 feet,” said Juliana Baughman, Walters’ mother. “His bike went 450 feet before it stopped. He hit him that hard.”
Baughman said she had a bad feeling when she received a call from Sinai Grace Hospital that night.
“I knew. My heart knew. If he was hurt, they would’ve told me my son was hurt. He didn’t tell me my son was hurt,” she said. “His skull was broken in so many pieces that, literally, if you touched him too hard, it would fall apart,” she said.
Authorities said Cook ditched the car he was driving and fled on foot. U.S. Marshal Aaron Garcia said detectives are following strong leads as they try to find Cook.
“We’re actively working this case. This is No. 1 on our task force priority list, and we’re going to do what we need to do, including charge people who are interfering with this investigation,” Garcia said. “Anyone helping him hide, harboring him, or has knowledge of his location and they’re not giving us the true information, we’re going to go after them people and prosecute them if we come across that.”
Baughman is pleading for information about where Cook may be hiding.
“I want to know when he closes his eyes at night, what does he see? Does he honestly go to sleep with a guilt-free conscious or does he see my son’s body on the front of his car? Does he have a conscious or any regret at all of what happened, what he did?” she said.
Cook is also known as Daniel Drvell Pickett. He is described as black with brown eyes and a black mustache. Officials said he has “a very noticeable bald spot on his chin.” Cook is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds.
A $3,500 reward is being offered for information that leads to Cook’s arrest. Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-8000-SPEAK-UP.